Many commercially available cleaners incorporate environmentally hazardous and toxic volatile organic compounds (VOCs). It has been found that VOCs are linked to ozone formation and contributed significantly other health hazards. In the printing industry, for example many cleaning solutions contain high VOC solvents include toluene, xylene, methyl ethyl ketone, glycol ethers, tetrachloroethylene, methyl isobutyl ketone, methanol, 1,1,1-trichloroethane, dichloromethane and ethylene glycol. Many ink cleaning compositions contain aromatic groups that are in many cases toxic and are not environmentally friendly in that they do not biodegrade well. Often these solvents will be low vapor pressure solvents with low flashpoints that are also extremely flammable. Such compositions are undesirable in light of the increased awareness for human exposure to toxic materials and the demand for environmentally friendly, non-toxic solvents. However, the drawbacks in utilizing these solvents have not diminished their use.
As another example with respect to surface (e.g., painted surface) cleaners, most commercially available cleaners contain hazardous or aggressive solvents that can remove some stains, but pose health hazards, fire hazards and/or have strong odors. For example, many solvents use aromatic-based compounds such as toluene, xylene, or are glycol ether-based solvents or chlorinated solvents. The use of these and related solvents is also not desirable because of the potential pollution and environmental problems associated with the disposal of such solvents. In addition, cleaners containing aggressive solvents also damages the underlying substrates that are being treated, such as painted surfaces, wood, carpet, and the like. Accordingly, there is an increasing consumer demand for environmentally friendly, biodegradable cleaning products.
As another example, many commercially available textile cleaners respond differently on food or beverage stains on clothing or other textiles. Some stains include cola, coffee, salad dressing, chocolate, mustard, lipstick, ketchup, etc. Most commercially available spot-stain cleaners contain hazardous or aggressive solvents such as NMP (N-methyl pyrrolidinone). These kinds of cleaners may pose health hazards, fire hazards and have strong odors. It is also possible that aggressive formulation may permanently damage clothing and textiles.
As yet another example, many commercially available graffiti cleaners contain high VOC components. Graffiti includes spray paint, marker and the like. Permanent markers are used on many substrates such as paper, writing boards, plastic panels, etc. It is, however, very difficult to completely remove permanent marker from many of these substrates, in particular plastic substrates. Generally, there is currently no satisfactory environmentally friendly cleaner for removing permanent marking pen from these substrate surfaces. Most of the commercially available “eco-friendly” cleaners are generally formulated for cleaning house-hold stains such as pen, crayons, pencils, lipsticks, washable marker and the like, but are not strong enough for hard-to-clean stains such as permanent marker and the like. In addition, even if such cleaners can clean most of the permanent ink from the substrate, in most cases there remains some visible markings on the substrates. On the other hand, other cleaners contain hazardous or aggressive solvents such as NMP (N-methyl pyrrolidinone). These kinds of cleaners may pose health hazards, fire hazards and have strong odors. It is also possible that aggressive formulation may permanently damage the applied-upon substrates.
The availability of environmentally friendly solvents, however, is limited because such alternatives generally do not provide satisfactory performance. A better ecotox profile often leads to a compromise in performance. Because many solvents are flammable and toxic to health, there is a need to develop provide an improved cleaning composition and methods of use which is environmentally friendly and effective at various industrial and consumer cleaning applications.